(according to Hesiod’s Theogony) In the beginning… (according to Hesiod’s Theogony)

there was only CHAOS

Then came the Earth, called Gaea, and Eros (Love).

Gaea produced the Sky (Uranus) to cover herself.

A Powerful Family… Gaea and Uranus have numerous offspring, including: Cyclopes Oceanus (the ocean) Briareus

The Titans Gaea and Uranus’ first generation of offspring are the 12 Titans: Cronus, Rhea, Iapetus, Oceanus, Hyperion, Themis, Thea, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Coeus, Tethys, and Crius.

Bad parenting… Uranus forced his children back into his wife’s womb, keeping them imprisoned within her body (the Earth). As they grew, they caused their mother both physical and emotional distress. Forced to act, Gaea crafted a sickle and gave it to her youngest son, Cronus.

A pattern emerges… The next time Uranus came to make love to Gaea, he was in for a very nasty surprise. Cronus, wielding the sickle, castrated his father. Uranus, although immortal, was now powerless.

Cronus follows in his father’s footsteps… Cronus hurled his father’s genitals into the waves, giving birth to great beauty and to vengeance. Aphrodite The Furies

Cronus is a disappointment… Cronus releases the other Titans, but not his less attractive siblings. Worse yet, when he takes his sister Rhea for his wife, he fails to learn from Uranus’ mistakes. Seeing his children as a threat, he swallows each one as it is born.

Here we go again… Rhea has five children, and Cronus swallows each child as it’s born. Rhea, understandably distraught, turns to Gaea and Uranus for advice. They tell her to save her next child by wrapping a stone in swaddling cloth. Thinking he is devouring his latest son, Zeus, Cronus eats a rock instead. Meanwhile, Zeus is raised to manhood in secret.

Stomach ache… Once grown, Zeus returns to his father’s court and slips him an ipecac. Remarkably, Zeus’ five brothers and sisters are regurgitated fully grown and ready to oppose their gluttonous father!

Another father overthrown… Zeus frees Cronus’ other prisoners, and along with his own brothers and sisters (Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Hestia, and Demeter) they wage war against Cronus and the Titans. After ten years of battle, Zeus triumphs. The Titans are imprisoned in Tartarus, and Zeus is made king. With his siblings and children, he rules from the top of Mt. Olympus. Zeus frees his father’s other siblings, and along with his own brothers and sisters (Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Hestia, and Demeter) they wage war against Cronus and the Titans. After ten years of battle, Zeus triumphs. The Titans are imprisoned in Tartarus, and Zeus is made king of the gods.

The Olympians! Zeus rules over the heavens. His brother Poseidon is given dominion over the seas, and Hades rules over the Underworld. Hestia is goddess of the hearth and domesticity, while sister Hera weds Zeus and becomes goddess of marriage. Hades spends so much time in the Underworld that he’s seldom considered an Olympian. Demeter, the last of the Olympians born to Cronus’, is the goddess of the harvest.

There are 12 Olympians Eventually, Hestia yields her position to Dionysus (God of Wine). The other Olympians are Apollo, Artemis, Hephaestus, Ares, Aphrodite, and Hermes.

The Cycle The cycle of sons overthrowing their fathers ends with Zeus, whose rule brings order, but not without a few scares…